Shopping carts employing a basket mounted on a wheeled base are utilized extensively in supermarkets, department stores and the like. Due to increased population, and the accompanying growth in shopping centers and the substantial increase in the number of self-serve supermarkets and department stores, there has been a continuing increase in the demand for shopping carts. At the present time, and for several years past, substantially all of the high quality shopping carts are and were constructed of metal, specifically a plurality of wire and tubular members and joint fittings which must be individually fabricated and then individually assembled to form the cart. This latter process includes assembling the joint fittings and the wire and tubular members in a jig, spot or arc welding and/or brazing the wire or tubular members in the joints, cleaning and grinding the arc welds to form smooth junctions, priming the assembled cart to prevent rust, and finally plating the cart. Since this process is obviously slow and requires substantial labor, this severely restricts the production rate and results in the shopping cart being relatively expensive.
A further disadvantage of a metal shopping cart in addition to cost, is that it is relatively heavy which thus impairs the mobility of the cart. More specifically, a heavy metal cart is more difficult to push, and thus use of such cart is more objectionable to the customer. In addition, when a plurality of such carts are nested together, the movement of the nested carts is difficult in view of the substantial weight.
Another disadvantage which arises due to the conventional practice of taking shopping carts outside the supermarket, such as into a parking lot, is that metal carts, even though plated, are more or less susceptible to rusting when exposed to rain, snow, ice and the like. This problem of rusting is particularly severe after the carts have been in use for a period of time so that the plating becomes cracked or scratched. When the cart begins to rust, it creates a very unfavorable impression on the customer, so that such cart can no longer be satisfactorily utilized. Due to the expense of metal carts, the replacement thereof due to rusting or other damage has constituted a substantially large and recurring business expense.
Metal carts, when left in parking lots, also often cause substantial damage to automobiles.
The wire mesh structure of a conventional metal shopping cart also makes cleaning of the cart difficult. Since a great majority of shopping carts are used in supermarkets for the handling of food products, customer acceptance of the carts requires that they be maintained clean. The known metal carts have necessarily required that they be cleaned rather frequently, normally by use of a high velocity steam or hot water spray. The difficulty of cleaning these metal carts, and the frequency with which the cleaning must be performed, substantially increases the cost associated with owning and maintaining such carts.
Other disadvantages associated with metal shopping carts relate to the noise created by these carts, and the difficulties encountered in separating the nested carts. In view of the large number of wires and tubular members which are assembled to manufacture the carts, and in view of the welding and other assembly techniques used for forming the cart, the manufacture of metal shopping carts with precise tolerances is substantially impossible. Because of the substantial so-resulting dimensional variations in the carts, the carts often have a tendency to wedge together when nested.
Accordingly, while metal shopping carts have been made and effectively used in very large numbers for several years and much effort has gone into maximizing their efficiency and durability, there is still substantial and recognized room for improvement. Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved shopping cart which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages, said improved shopping cart being constructed substantially entirely of plastics material. More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide:
1. A shopping cart, as aforesaid, which includes a basket mounted on a wheeled base, with the basket and base each being capable of comprising primarily a one-piece plastics member.
2. A shopping cart, as aforesaid, wherein the basket is capable of comprising a one-piece molded plastics member which defines the front, bottom and side walls of the basket.
3. A shopping cart, as aforesaid, wherein the base is also formed as a one-piece molded plastics member and includes a substantially U-shaped frame on which the wheels are mounted, and a pedestal integrally fixed to and projecting upwardly from the frame for attachment to the basket.
4. A shopping cart, as aforesaid, wherein the basket and pedestal have cooperating flanges and grooves formed thereon for permitting the basket to be easily and efficiently mounted on the base while resulting in a secure and strong connection therebetween, and for maintaining the desired alignment of the basket relative to the base.
5. A shopping cart, as aforesaid, which utilizes a one-piece plastics gate hingedly mounted on the one-piece basket member for closing the rear end of the basket, which gate additionally includes handle means integrally attached to the upper edge thereof and pivotally supported on the opposite side walls of the basket.
6. A shopping cart, as aforesaid, including a collapsible baby seat assembly mounted on the rear gate, which seat assembly is formed of plastics material by a single molding operation.
7. A shopping cart, as aforesaid, which can readily nest with a further such cart.
8. A shopping cart, as aforesaid, wherein the base includes a support platform on the forward end thereof, which support platform slopes downwardly at a slight angle so as to function both as a platform for supporting objects thereon, and as a camming surface for engagement with a lifting plate positioned on the rear side of the pedestal when a plurality of said carts are nested together so that the rear wheels of the nested cart will be lifted out of engagement with the ground.
9. A shopping cart, as aforesaid, which is capable of being formed almost wholly from molded plastics material and possesses a minimum number of molded parts to permit the cart to be rapidly and efficiently manufactured at relatively low cost.
10. A shopping cart, as aforesaid, which is substantially lighter in weight than a conventional metal cart, which creates an overall impression which is highly pleasing, and which is of an aesthetically balanced symmetrical form.
11. A shopping cart, as aforesaid, which eliminates the time-consuming manufacturing techniques necessarily used for making metal carts, such as by eliminating the need to handle, fabricate and join metal wires and tubes, which eliminates the need to braze or weld metal components, and accordingly eliminates the disadvantages which exist in the manufacturing processes of the prior carts.
12. A shopping cart, as aforesaid, wherein the component parts of the cart are adaptable for molding from a tough, resilient resin using a technique which produces a hard exterior shell and a structural foam interior, thereby minimizing the moment of inertia per unit mass and per unit length of the components while at the same time providing maximum durability and minimum weight.
13. A shopping cart, as aforesaid, which can be manufactured with a high degree of dimensional stability since the cart is formed from a small number of molded components, so that the cart can be efficiently manufactured and assembled at relatively low cost and at a rapid rate while permitting a degree of dimensional uniformity not possible with known metal carts.
14. A shopping cart, as aforesaid, which is immune to rust and does not require priming and plating, and can thus be readily left outdoors without suffering damage or deterioration.
15. A shopping cart, as aforesaid, which when left in parking lots is less susceptible to being damaged by vehicles and in turn is less susceptible of damaging vehicles.
16. A shopping cart, as aforesaid, which because of its molded plastic structure and specifically its plastic base, possesses greater durability, and particularly deformation resistance, so as to be able to withstand impacts without causing damage to either the cart or other objects.
17. A shopping cart, as aforesaid, which is extremely simple to keep clean, which can be provided in decorative and distinctive colors, and which can be easily imprinted with identifying information at the time of molding if desired.
Other objects and purposes of the present invention will be apparent to persons familiar with carts of this general type upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.